Fully-Staffed

Have you ever felt like you don't have "enough" to do what you were called to do?

In any job I've had, both in salaried leadership positions and as an hourly worker, I remember the stress of not having "enough" of what I needed to successfully do my job.

Whether it is was being short on inventory on the day of a big sale. Or the time(s) I had to open and the mid-shift relief called off. And the days when I didn't have enough people to process orders in a timely-fashion. Being fully-staffed and fully-stocked is imperative to business success.

In our spiritual lives, this transcends into our journey and our calling.

Feeling the need to sew our tithes, but we're already living check-to-check. Being called to speak internationally, and never experienced leaving your hometown.

If you're Moses, being asked to free the Hebrews and having a speech issue and a huge self-confidence issue.

Today, we're going to look at the double meaning of being "staffed." In the natural sense, we've already gone over the loose definition of what word. (I won't make you scroll up and refresh yourselves.) It's having what you need to do what you gotta do.

For a man in the old Testament who was a shepherd, it's being equipped with your rod to guide and watch over your flock.

What I find interesting about the actual definition of "staff," is it doesn't actually mean having "enough." It means having the "charge to carry out the work." (Shout out to dictionary.com)

This means we can have the order and the responsibility, without having the comfort and reassurance of having what we think we need.

Another thing to consider, when encountering new challenges, is this...

How do we challenge what is "enough," for a task we have never done before?

By those standards, we may actually (and often do) have what we need, and do not realize the value of what's around us. Because we are ignorant of how to use what we've got.

Let's go back to Moses for a few moments...

We'll fast-forward his cruise on the Nile as a child in a woven basket. And his upbringing at Pharaoh's home. We'll even go past him running away from Egypt after he murdered a man for beating a Hebrew.

Let's meet Moses in front of the Burning Bush. (Exodus 3:1-17)

Here we see Moses speaking to God, and hearing His voice, as He spoke about the affliction of His people (the Israelites). And I want to pause here for just a second.

Exodus 3:7 is an interesting conversation point. Here we hear God telling Moses,

"The Lord said, “I have in fact seen the affliction (suffering, desolation) of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters (oppressors); for I know their pain and suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand (power) of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a land [that is] good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey"

If I were Moses (and let's all thank the Lord I wasn't lol), I would have interrupted God right here. "Am I not part of the people you are talking about?"

Have you ever been given instructions to help someone who was in the same boat as you?

It's an odd feeling being instructed to help people, when you are still struggling to help yourself.

I know we fast-forwarded through Moses' childhood and adolescence. But let's flip through that highlight reel. Bruh was a prince!! He was living his best life. And then he had to flee for his life. He was now content... Married. Had a solid family around him. Was probably okay being a shepherd. He had a new life. I think of it to the soundtrack of one of my favorite songs from Hamilton.

Somebody cue, "It's quiet up town."

The rest of Chapter 3 is God providing Moses with instructions. It isn't until Chapter 4 of Exodus that Moses speaks. It all gets relatably-downhill (for a second) from there.

Why yes, I did make up a word... :)

Anyhoo... Chapter 4 of Exodus has our guy Moses telling God this might not be a good idea.

"What if they don't believe me?" (Exodus 4:1)

This is where it gets good, y'all.

God answered Moses' question with a (you guessed it) another question. (Exodus 4:2)

"What's that in your hand?" - God

"A staff." - Moses

From here, God directs Moses to throw his staff down and it becomes a snake. (Which was also the symbol on Pharaoh's crown... I'll explain why this is important when we close.)

God and Moses went back and forth in a few more exchanges of "what if" scenario. If you're not familiar with how this story ends, I strongly encourage you to finish reading the story. I also invite you to watch The Prince of Egypt movie. (It's on #Hulu. You're welcome.) :)

Let's focus on that staff for a second. Something that represented Moses' new chapter after leaving Egypt. Something he probably didn't think would be useful for anything outside of leading sheep, was the very item used for one of the most known miracles in the Bible.

I mean, seriously... It split the Red Sea.

But it's something he always had with him. An item that he'd use daily, and probably (at this point in his talk with God) was something taken for granted. And to be honest, I can see why. From an untrained eye, its just a stick.

Ever feel like you were carrying just a stick, with a calling that feels like it needs a whole lot more than that?

Like you needed to be the strongest, but you were the weakest?

Maybe like you were fishing and catching nothing?

Or even like you were down to your last, and not sure if you were going to make it anoter day.

Friend, you are in amazing company. Right there with Gideon (Judges chapters 6-8), Peter (Luke 5:4), and the woman Elijah met at the well (1st Kings 17:8-16). Or like our hero Moses, who felt he needed more skill.

Moses thought God had the wrong person.

But in reality, Moses had the right God.

I think we get confused on what it takes to carry out our calling. We think if we are called outside of our comfort zone, there must be some mistake. But let me tell you something.

It's a calling.... It's a purpose... It's not a vacation.

God tends to put people in position to reveal how great He is, not how amazing they are.

Whatever you have on you, or rather in you, is all God needs to use you.

But Cherita.. what about when the staff turned into a snake?

(I almost forgot) :)

The staff turning into a snake, and the snake being the same symbol on Pharaoh's crown, spoke to my spirit.

There is no thing, no power, no nothing - that another person has that can outpower what God has given you. <3